


Snake's Child

by QueenEmpath



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: (No Voldemort, A/U, Gen, Lies, Protective Snape, Severus adopt Harry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-04
Updated: 2017-03-27
Packaged: 2018-09-14 17:06:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9195461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenEmpath/pseuds/QueenEmpath
Summary: One the night of Halloween, Severus made a different choice by taking Harry with him and raising him as his own but when a black dog and a familiar werewolf return, Snape's world turn upside down





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This this my new fic

 

_31st October 1981_

When Severus reached Godric's Hollow, everything was deathly quiet. He feared the worst. Entering the house, he saw Potter's lifeless body near the front door. He inhaled sharply; the stark reality of what had happened had set in.

After searching for a bit, he reached a small room, which was the nursery. Inside the room, Lily was lying unconscious on the floor. Her child was in his crib looking at his fallen mother.

Severus ran straight to Lily's unconscious form and checked her, looking for any sign of life. But it was too late. Lily was dead. Severus clutched Lily's body close to him and couldn't stop the tears that escaped his eyes.

After grieving and mourning his lost love, Severus decided to leave. He ignored the small child, who was looking at him with those huge green eyes. He was about to leave when a small voice called:

"Dada!" Severus sharply turned around and fixed the child with a glare. He couldn't believe his ears. The child thought that Severus was his father! His gaze hardened and he turned to leave. He didn't care about the child. It was Potter's son, after all. Aurors would be at the scene soon enough; they would find him a new home.

But he's Lily's son too, said a small voice in his mind. Severus ignored the voice and attempted to leave.

Suddenly Harry started to cry. Severus cursed loudly and turned around. He approached the crib and picked the child up. He knew that he was going to regret this later. He pointed his wand at the empty crib and said:

"Replicio!" A lifeless shell, which looked exactly like the child in his arms, appeared in the crib. After working for Voldemort for so long, Severus knew some tricks. Silently, Severus took his left with the baby.

After reaching his home, Severus transfigured his old chair into a crib. Then, he placed Harry in it. Severus placed a very powerful glamour charm to conceal Harry's scar and green eyes.

Although he did love those eyes; they reminded him of Lily. But he didn't want to take any risks. Severus knew that if Albus knew the truth, he'd send the boy to Lily's awful sister and her Muggle husband. Severus knew very well that Petunia hated magic.

The next day, it was all over the Daily Prophet:

_YOUNG SAVIOR SACRIFICED HIS LIFE FOR WIZARDING WORLD_

Severus simply snorted after reading the news. He got a small giggle in reply. He looked at 'his' son who was smiling at him.

"Dada," said Harry, beaming at his 'dada'.

Severus shook his head. He'd make sure that his son would call him father. Harry Potter was dead to the world. This was Damian Snape, his son,

Some days later, Lucius Malfoy visited Severus. He was shocked to see a child in Snape's house. Lucius knew very well that Snape despised children.

"Whose child is this Severus?" asked Lucius, pointing at the baby who was playing on the floor.

He looked around the same age as Draco. He had a tuft of black hair, an almond shaped face and onyx eyes.

"He's mine," stated Severus, simply.

"I never knew you had a child…or that you were in a relationship," said Lucius, eyeing Severus suspiciously.

"My personal life is none of your business, Malfoy," said Severus, curtly. But that didn't deter Lucius and he kept asking questions.

"So where did he come from? I mean, where is his mother? Don't tell me that you had an one night stand with some whore and she left him outside your doorstep?"

Severus clenched his fists when Lucius referred to Lily as a whore.

* * *

 

August 1991

"Father, Father look what I got!" said an excited eleven year old boy.

Severus groaned. Putting Daily Prophet aside, he fixed his son with a glance. It had been eleven years but his glamour charm was still working perfectly. His son had smooth black hair, an almond shaped face and onyx eyes.

Raising Damian wasn't easy. Severus reluctantly took a Potion master's job at Hogwarts. Like others, Albus too asked about Damian's mother. Severus told him that she died, which wasn't a lie.

"What is the matter Damian"? Severus asked; his tone was neutral. He could swear that sometimes Damian behaved exactly like Potter. Severus knew that he couldn't change the blood that flowed in Damian's veins.

Damian showed Severus two envelopes. One was a cream-coloured envelope with the Hogwarts seal. The other was a black envelope with a golden seal.

Severus picked up the black one and started to read. When he stopped, his eyes were huge with disbelief.

"It's from Durmstrang," said Severus, not believing what he had just read. He had never thought that Damian would get a letter from Durmstrang. He knew that the school accepted half-blood students but it still felt like a dream.

"I think Durmstrang would be better for you. They have a higher academic level then Hogwarts. It will good for your potion skills," Severus stated.

It was true that Durmstang was better than Hogwarts in academics, but there was another reason. Severus wanted to hide Damian from Dumbledore. Although Harry Potter was dead to the Wizarding world, he couldn't take Albus for granted.

"But I want to attend Hogwarts," insisted Damian. He didn't know why his father wanted to send him so far away.

"There is nothing special about Hogwarts," Severus lied.

"So why do you work there?" asked Damian. The sarcasm was clear in his voice. Severus' eyes twitched in anger.

"Do not use that tone with me, boy. You are going to Durmstrang and that's my final decision," Severus announced in his no nonsense voice. Before Damian could argue, a loud pop sounded and two house-elves arrived. One male and one female. The female elf was holding the male's ear in painful grip.

"Master Snape, Dobby broke master's phial again! But Mipsy cleaned everything," Mipsy told Severus.

"How many times have I told you? Stay away from my Potions lab!" Severus shouted. Both elves and Damian flinched. Dobby's ears drooped and his lips started to wobble.

"Dobby is sorry master. Dobby knows he's a bad elf. Dobby will punish himself." With that, Dobby started to bang his head against the wall. Mipsy shrieked in horror, while Damian slapped his forehead. The elf's antics angered Severus even more.

"The three of you: Get out of my sight. Now!" Severus shouted. Both of the elves and Damian ran out of the room. When Severus was sure that he was alone, he massaged his temples.

"Merlin help me," he muttered.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the new chapter

Diagon Alley - 1991

Severus and Damian visited Diagon Alley to buy Damian's school supplies. After much convincing from Lucius and Narcissa, Severus decided to allow Damian to attend Hogwarts.

After exiting Gringotts, the father-son duo headed towards the other shops. Damian chose a beautiful snowy owl as his pet—much to Severus's annoyance. He thought a snake would be better for Damian.

"Take this money and buy yourself a wand, books and robes. Don't waste money on stupid things like Quidditch supplies. I'm going to buy some potion ingredients," Severus instructed. Damian just nodded.

On his way to Ollivanders, Damian bumped into something, or rather, someone. He looked up to see a huge man staring down at him

"Ah 'ello young Damian," the man greeted, jovially.

"Hello, Mr Hagrid," Damian greeted back.

"Buying your Hogwarts supplies, I see. You know, Hogwarts is the best Wizarding school in the world," Hagrid told Damian.

"My father thinks otherwise," Damian said sarcastically.

"So where's Professor Snape?" Hagrid asked with a frown.

"Buying potion ingredients as always," Damian muttered. Hagrid ruffled Damian's hair and left.

When Damian exited the wand shop, Mr Ollivander's words were echoing in his mind.

"This wand is very special. You see only two wand were made of this core. One is in your hand. The other belonged to You-know-who". Damian's eyes went wide after hearing Mr Ollivanders' declaration. Damian decided that he wouldn't say a word to his father about the wand.

* * *

 

September 1st - 1991

Platform 9 ¾ was crowded like it was every year. Damian was with the Malfoys because his father had left early for Hogwarts. He looked around. He saw a chubby looking boy getting scolded by an old woman. Damian guessed that she was the boy's grandmother. He also saw a family of redheads, consisting of four boys, a girl and their parents. Damian noticed Uncle

Lucius and Aunt Narcissa were looking at the redheads hatefully.

On the train, Damian deliberately chose to not sit with Draco and his pratty friends, no matter what his father would say. Damian had spent most of his childhood switching between Malfoy manor and Hogwarts. Although Draco and Damian were god brothers, Damian hated Draco's snobbish antics. Damian was lost in his thoughts when a lanky boy entered.

"Excuse me; can I sit here? Other compartments are full," the boy stated.

"Yeah, sure," Damian encouraged. The other boy sat opposite him. He had ginger hair, blue eyes and freckles.

"Hi I'm Ron Weasley," said the redhead, shaking hands with Damian

"I'm Damian Snape," Damian replied

"Snape? Hmm I think, I've heard that surname before," said Ron.

"I saw you on the platform with your family. You know, you're really lucky to have three brothers and a sister. I hate being an only child," Damian told Ron, who didn't look happy.

"I don't have three brothers; I have five. The oldest two, Bill and Charlie, have graduated from Hogwarts. Bill was the head boy and Charlie was the Quidditch captain. Percy is a Prefect. Although the twins are troublemakers, they're good in their studies. So how many people are there in your family?" asked Ron, forgetting his rant.

"Uh, just me and my father."

"What about your mother?" asked Ron. Damian's face fell after hearing Ron's question.

"She died when I was a baby. I don't have a single picture of her," said Damian sadly.

"Oh, I'm so sorry mate. Hey, do you want to see something?" asked Ron, trying to lighten other boy's mood. He put his hand in his pocket producing a brown coloured rat, which was sleeping.

"This is Scabbers, my rat. Actually he was my brother, Percy's rat. When Percy became a prefect, he got a new owl and I got Scabbers. You know he's been in our family for twelve years," Ron told Damian whose eyes were huge with shock.

"Don't you think twelve years is quite a long time for a rat to stay alive? They usually don't live for a long time," Damian told Ron who just shrugged. Just then, the compartment door banged open and in entered a very pissed-off Draco Malfoy. He was accompanied by Crabbe and Goyle.

"Damian, what you doing here with Weasley?" asked Draco, sneering at Ron.

"Oh, hi Draco," Damian grumbled

"You know Malfoy?" Ron asked, looking at Damian questioningly, who muttered "unfortunately" under his breath.

"What are you doing here with this loser? You should sit with people of your class. Come on, let's go," said Draco.

"For Merlin's sake Draco, stop acting like a prat and go away. You can't tell me who I should or shouldn't talk to," Damian told Draco, who stormed out of the compartment angrily.

"Hey mate, how do you know Malfoy?"

"We're god brothers," Damian said with a sigh

"Bloody hell!" Ron swore loudly.

* * *

 

Ron and Damian were busy eating sweets when the compartment door opened again and a bushy hair girl entered.

"Excuse me; have you seen a toad here? A boy named Neville just lost one. Oh, where are my manners? Hello, I'm Hermione Granger and you are?" Hermione asked.

"Won Weasley" Ron said through a mouth full of chocolate.

Hermione grimaced. "You know, you shouldn't talk whilst eating," she scolded Ron, who ignored her and kept eating. Hermione sat beside Damian. After Damian's introduction, Hermione started to talk again.

"I'm very excited about Hogwarts. My parents are Muggles, Muggle dentists. So which house are you both hoping to get sorted into? I heard that there are four houses in Hogwarts," Hermione stated.

"Obviously Gryffindor. My family has always in Gryffindor," Ron stated plainly.

"I'm hoping for Slytherin," said Damian.

"Are you insane, mate? Slytherins are evil!" Ron exclaimed.

"No, they aren't," Damian said defensively.

"Yes, they are. Most of the dark wizards are from Slytherin. For instance, the Malfoys. Members of Malfoy family have been in Slytherin for centuries. Not to forget You-know-who was a Slytherin as well," Ron said.

"That proves nothing. Merlin himself was in Slytherin," Damian argued back.

"You know both of you are being ridiculous," Hermione chided. Again, the compartment door opened and a chubby boy entered. He looked at Hermione and asked shyly:

"Hermione, did you find Trevor?"

"Oh, Neville. Sorry I forgot about you. Damian, Ron, this is Neville Longbottom," Hermione

introduced.

* * *

 

When the first years reached the Great Hall, everyone was in awe. Damian immediately saw his father on the head table. Severus just nodded in assurance, which relieved Damian.

"Alright, first years! I'm going to call your name one by one. The Sorting Hat will be placed on your head and it will sort you into your respective houses," explained a stern looking woman.

"I'll kill those buggers. They told me we had to fight a giant squid in order to get sorted," Ron muttered.

"Abbott, Hannah!" called the professor.

To Damian's surprise, both Hermione and Neville got sorted in Gryffindor. He had thought that Hermione would be better for Ravenclaw and Neville showed many Hufflepuff traits. Damian wasn't surprised when Draco got sorted into Slytherin. Soon it was his turn.

"Snape, Damian!" All eyes fell on Damian. Students started to whisper:

"Look, that's Snape's son."

"I never thought that Snape would have a son."

"I never thought that Snape was even capable of having children. Greasy bastard."

Damian ignored the voices and sat on the stool. After sometime the professor, McGonagall, placed the hat on his head.

" _Ah, another Snape I see. But you're very different from your father. Ambitious, just like him. There's a thirst to prove yourself_."

"Slytherin, please Slytherin," muttered Damian.

_"You have the qualities for Slytherin but there are other qualities too. Plenty of courage and a good mind. You possess a good heart as well, which are traits that belong to other houses "_

"Please, put me in Slytherin," Damian told the hat again.

_"Slytherin would be good for you but I think it would be better if you were a…_

"GRYFFINDOR !" shouted the hat.

The whole great hall went deathly quiet. Damian looked at Draco who was glaring daggers at him. Then he looked at his father whose expression was blank. He quickly removed the hat and ran towards the Gryffindor table.

Severus couldn't believe his eyes. His child, his Damian had been sorted in Gryffindor. His son was a Gryffindor. Just like Potter, bloody fucking Potter.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the new chapter

 

After Dumbledore's speech, everyone started to eat.

On the Gryffindor table, while other children were chatting and eating, Damian was sitting with a bowed head. He didn't dare look up to see his father's disappointed face. He also didn't want to look at Draco, who was definitely angry with him.

"Hey mate. Vhat is ve matter? Why aren't vu eating?" Ron asked, his mouth full. Hermione looked at Ron with disgust. Damian just shook his head.

"Do you know, Gred? In this year's sorting we hit the jackpot," said one of Ron's older brothers.

"And what is that Forge?" asked the other twin.

"We got Snape's son. Let's hope he won't turn out to be like his father." With that, both twin brothers started to laugh. Damian felt sad. Is this what my new housemates think of me? A professor's child, a prize trophy, something to make fun of. Seeing this, Ron faced Damian and spoke:

"Hey mate. Don't listen to those prats; they don't know when to say what. Just ignore them."

Damian only nodded.

After dinner was over, all first-year students followed their respective house prefects. Gryffindor students were following Ron's older brother Percy. In Ron's opinion, he was a total git. After crossing many corridors, and climbing movable stairs, they found themselves in front of a portrait of a fat looking woman who was wearing a pink dress.

"Password," said the lady in the portrait. The students who didn't know anything about the talking paintings (especially the Muggleborns) got scared.

"Lemon drops," said Percy in a bored tone. The portrait swung open and the entrance of the Gryffindor common room became visible. Percy led the first-year's inside. The Gryffindor common room was better than what Damien had expected. The whole common room was decorated beautifully in red and gold—even the furniture. Damien was in awe. Percy came forward and faced the first years.

"Alright first years, this place is going to be your home for the next seven years and your housemates are going to be like your family. As the headmaster told you, house points will be given and taken by both professors and prefects. So, I'm asking you to please behave yourselves and don't do anything to bring shame to both you and Gryffindor house," said Percy in his no nonsense voice.

Damian was glad to know that he was sharing a room with Ron and Neville. Besides them, Damian had two other roommates: Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan. Everyone was unpacking their bags. Dean was pasting posters on his side of wall and Ron was touching them continuously, much to Dean's annoyance.

"Hey mate, why aren't these posters moving?" Ron asked curiously. Dean looked at Ron as if he had grown another head.

"What are you talking about. Posters don't move, do they?" asked Dean.

"Wizard posters do," Ron proclaimed. To prove his point, he pulled out his Chudley Cannons poster in which a Seeker was diving to catch the Golden Snitch.

"Woah mate, that's cool but what sport is it?" asked Dean.

"It's Quidditch. The best game in whole world!" said Ron proudly, but Dean didn't look impressed.

"You mean second best. Football is the best game in whole world," said Dean, challengingly.

"No, it's not."

"Yes, it is."

"Quidditch is better."

"No, football is!"

While Ron and Dean were busy arguing over which sport was the best, Damian turned to Seamus. "Tell me something about yourself?" Damian asked.

"Well, my father is a Muggle and my mother is a witch. You know, when my mother told him that she was a witch, he fainted. I spent all this summer riding my broom," said Seamus, excitedly.

"Doesn't your father have a problem with your magic?" asked Damian. His father had told him how badly Muggles reacted to Magic. Seamus just shook his head.

* * *

 

The next day, Damian's first class was Transfiguration. When Damian and the others reached the classroom, Professor McGonagall was already present. She was looking as stern as always.

"Good morning, students. Today is our first day of class so I'm going to tell you about Transfiguration. Transfiguration isn't easy. It takes practice, concentration and focus to master it," said Professor McGonagall. To demonstrate, she waved her wand and turned her desk into real pig. Damian knew very well that they were not going to be turning tables into pigs anytime soon.

After noting very complicated Transfiguration notes, matchsticks were given to the students. Mcgonagall told them to try to turn these matchsticks into needles. At the end of the class, only Hermione's matchstick was looking like something close to needle.

Other classes went well. In Damian's opinion, the only thing that was interesting about History of Magic was that it was taught by a ghost. Charms and Herbology were okay. The only class Damian was nervous about was Potions.

In Potions, Severus was deliberately asking Damian difficult questions. When he was unable to answer, it resulted in the deduction of house points.

When the class was over, Damian felt rather upset.

"Woah mate, Snape is actually evil!" exclaimed Ron. Hermione slapped Ron's head.

"He hates me," said Damien in small voice.

"You know, not getting sorted in Slytherin isn't big deal," said Hermione.

Damian shook his head. "It is. It really is."

Flying class was the only class that Damian was looking forward to. Although Damian used Draco's hand-me-down broom, much to his father's annoyance. He was actually excited about his first flying lesson. All students were gathered in the grounds. Just then, a woman with short, white hair arrived.

"Good morning, students," the professor greeted, formally.

"Good morning, Madame Hooch," everyone chorused. The professor fixed everyone with a glance.

"Alright, everyone stand beside your broom. Keep your hand hovering over your broom and say up," Professor Hooch instructed. To everyone's shock, it was Damian whose broom came to him first. When everyone got hold of their brooms, Professor Hooch told everyone to mount them. Everything was fine until Neville's broom got out of control and he fell with a loud thump.

Professor Hooch took Neville to infirmary leaving others alone.

Pansy Parkinson laughed. "Poor Longbottom can't handle a broom." Damien really hated that girl.

"Hey, knock it off, Parkinson," said Parvati Patil.

Pansy sneered at Parvati. "Oh Parvati, I never knew you were into cry babies like Longbottom."

Draco took Neville's Remembrall and rolled it around in his hand. "Let's hide this somewhere Longbottom can't find," he said, mounting his broom and flying towards a tower. Damian quickly followed suit.

"Give that back Draco," demanded Damian.

"Let me think… No," Draco said, coldly. He was still pissed of with Damian for choosing Weasley and Longbottom over him. He threw the Remembrall as far as he could but Damian flew towards it and caught it, unaware of the fact that McGonagall had seen him.

Later that evening, Damian was called into McGonagall's office. He was very nervous. Mcgonagall looked at him and spoke:

"Now, Mr Snape, I called you here to discuss the happenings of this afternoon."

Damien's eyes went huge "I—I'm sorry professor. Please, it will never happen again. Please don't tell my father." Before Damian could say any more, McGonagall stopped him.

"Mr Snape, I didn't call you here for punishment. In fact, I called you here for appreciation. You're exceptionally talented, Mr Snape," praised McGonagall.

Just then, an older boy entered the office.

"You called, professor?" asked the boy.

"Ah yes, Mr Wood. Please, meet your new Seeker," stated McGonagall. Damien was both delighted and shocked with this new development. Him, Damian Severus Snape, was a real Seeker. Now, that was unbelievable!

* * *

 

After Quidditch practice, Damian was heading towards Professor McGonagall's office. During practice, the Gryffindor team had been visited by Madam Hooch, who had praised Damian's Quidditch skills and told him that they reminded her of James Potter, who had been her favourite student. When Damian reached Professor McGonagall's office, he heard the loud voices of two people arguing.

"Are you fucking insane, Minerva? How could you let a first-year student onto a Quidditch team?" Damian heard his father.

"Language, Severus. I don't think matters of Gryffindor house are any of your concern. As the Head of House, I can put whoever I want to into the Quidditch team," said Mcgonagall, in a matter-of-fact tone.

"But he's my son," Severus shouted again.

"He's also my student and member of Gryffindor. He's much more talented than you were. He has so much potential and if you, Severus Snape, are a good father, you won't come between his dreams and aspirations," said Mcgonagall.

Severus huffed and stormed out of the office, ignoring his son who was outside.

That evening, Fred and George visited Ron's dorm. They wanted to show something to him and Damian. They produced a piece of clothing which didn't look special, at all.

"What is it?" asked Damian, curiously eyeing the cloth.

"This is the Invisibility Cloak. It belonged to James Potter," explained Fred. Damian frowned at the name. He had heard about James Potter from almost everyone. He really wanted to know about this man.

"How do we know that this isn't one of your pranks?" asked Ron eyeing his older brothers suspiciously. To prove their point, George wrapped the cloak around himself and became invisible.

"Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed.

Damien looked at twins and hesitantly asked, "Can I please borrow this?"

"Yes, of course, but you have to keep it a secret," the twins told him. Both him and Ron nodded.

When Damian held the cloak, it felt like as if it had always belonged to him, as if he wasn't touching a stranger's possession, but something that was very close to him.

* * *

 

On the weekend, Damian was having lunch with his father. It was the first time since his sorting that they were sitting together.

Damian looked at his father and asked, "Father, can I ask you something?"

"Yes," answered Severus, smoothly.

"Do you know anything about James Potter?" After hearing the name, Severus' blood ran cold.

He looked at his son sharply. "Where did you hear that name?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

"I—I heard about them from Madame Hooch and my fellow Gryffindors. They told me he was an excellent Quidditch player and that he was also very popular," said Damian with a fond smile, which irked Severus more.

"James Potter was a self-centred, good for nothing, rowdy, arrogant prat. He was a bully who loved to torment weak students. He was neither a good student nor a good person. I suggest you stop wasting your time on such a useless being and concentrate on your studies," Severus told his son.

After lunch, Damian was more confused. He sensed clear hatred in his father's voice when he was talking about James Potter.

That night, when the other boys were sleeping, Damian took the Invisibility Cloak and went outside. He was wandering the corridors of Hogwarts. He didn't wanted to face Filch. Just then, Filch's cat arrived and stared right at him. Damien got scared; it seemed the cat was able to see through the cloak. The cat came forward and meowed loudly, calling for her master. After sometime, Flich arrived and looked here and there. He was unable to find anyone.

"Come on, my sweet, no one is there," Filch told his cat picking her up. But the cat was unconvinced. When Damian was sure that Filch had actually left, he sighed in relief.

In order to avoid Filch, Damien went inside an abandoned classroom. At the corner of the room, many mirrors were placed. He came across a mirror in which he saw his father and himself with a vague outline of a woman and some other children. Damian was shocked to see all of this.

Then he came across another mirror. When he looked in it, things were even more confusing than the previous one. Inside the mirror, there wasn't his reflection but someone else's. The boy in the mirror was around the same age as him but he had messy black hair, huge green eyes and a weird mark on his forehead. Damian touched the mirror at the same time the boy touched it as well.

When Damien thought that it couldn't get any worse, two other images appeared on the mirror: a man and a woman. The man had messy black hair and an almond shaped face, just like the boy, but he had hazel eyes. The woman had red hair and green eyes. Damien was scared now; he didn't knew why he was seeing all of this. He did the only thing he could think of in the situation… He ran, not caring about Filch or anyone else.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I accidentally marked this story complete, it isn't complete yet

  
  


When Damian returned to his dorm, he was panting heavily. After all, he had run the entire way.

He looked at his roommates who were sleeping peacefully. After what he had seen, Damian couldn't dream of sleeping. He sat on his bed thinking about the happenings in the abandoned classroom.

The next day, Damian remained distracted in classes. During break, Hermione decided to confront him.

"Are you going to tell us what's wrong? You've been distracted the entire day. If I wasn't there you would have gotten detention from Professor McGonagall!" exclaimed Hermione.

Damian took a deep breath—and then everything spilled forth. After he finished telling Hermione and Ron about the night before, the two of them were visibly shocked.

"We'll visit that place tonight," said Damian. Ron nodded in agreement.

"Oh no. I'm not going with you guys. Some of us still care about rules and regulations. Unlike others," said Hermione, looking pointedly at both boys.

At night, while Neville, Dean and Seamus slept, Ron and Damian snuck out of their dorm. Despite being under the cloak, they didn't wanted to get caught by Filch, or worse Peeves. He would scream bloody murder and alert the entirety of Hogwarts if he caught them.

Once they were inside the classroom, Damian removed the cloak. Ron looked at their surroundings with wide eyes.

"Woah mate this is actually room of mirrors," said Ron in astonishment. While Damian was searching for the mirror, Ron came across another. When he looked in it, his eyes widened to the extent that they looked like saucers.

"Hey, Damian! Come here take a look at this. This thing is bloody brilliant. I—I'm head boy a—and Quidditch Captain; I'm shaking hands with Dumbledore. We got the house cup!" said Ron excitedly, but Damian payed him no mind.

Just then, Damian shouted, "Ron come here!" Ron moved to stand near him and looked at Damian's reflection—which wasn't even his.

"Bloody hell. What kind of shit is this?" asked Ron, gesturing towards the mirror. He had never seen something like this in his whole life. Just then, two other images appeared in the mirror.

Ron's eyes went huge. "Wait, that man. T—that woman, I—I think I saw their picture somewhere. But I have no idea about that boy," said Ron.

"Where?" asked Damian impatiently.

"I don't remember, mate," said Ron with disappointment. Damian simply nodded and they took their leave.

* * *

 

Two weeks later, it was the start of the holidays and everyone was heading home. Damian and other boys were packing their trunks.

"You know, you can come to our place if you don't want to spend the holidays with Malfoy," suggested Ron.

"I don't know mate. I'll have to ask Father first," Damian grumbled. Ron groaned as well.

Holidays were boring for Damian, since he refused to go Malfoy Manor and his father was busy making potions. At least Dobby and Mipsy were there to give him company.

One morning, while Damian was having breakfast with Severus, an owl flew to their window… only to collide with it. The Owl looked much older then Hedwig. Damian found a letter attached to its leg. He gently untied the letter, but before he could read it, Severus took it and began to read:

 _Dearest Professor Snape._ Severus scoffed after reading the line. He started to read again.

_Dearest Professor Snape,_

_We're requesting you, please please send Damian to our home. We know he's getting bored there, since he doesn't wanted to spend his holidays with that prat—we mean Malfoy. Please professor give him permission. We really want to spend our holidays with him. Again, please, please, pretty please._

_Your favourite students,_

_Fred, George, Ron and Percy too._

Severus shook his head after reading the letter. Stupid Weasley twins. Can't even write a letter properly, Severus thought.

"Father, can I go please?" Damian pleaded.

"Alright, but you're not going alone. Dobby is going with you," Severus ordered. Damian nodded and sent a quick reply through to Hedwig.

The Weasley family was having lunch when the Floo went off and in entered Damian with a house elf. The Weasleys looked at him in shock.

"Hey, mate you finally made it! We thought Sna—I mean your father won't allow you," said Ron.

"Woah Damian you have a house elf!" exclaimed the twins.

"Uh, yes his name is Dobby. He was a gift from the Malfoys," said Damian nervously.

"What!" shouted the Weasley children.

"I visited Malfoy manor on my seventh birthday. There I saw how badly the Malfoys treated their house-elves, especially Dobby. So when Aunt Narcissa—I mean Draco's mother asked what I wanted as a present, I asked for Dobby," said Damian.

"Boys, aren't you forgetting something?" asked a short, plump woman. Then she turned to Damian and smiled kindly. "Hello, dear. It's really nice to finally meet you," said the woman.

"Hello, Mrs Weasley," greeted Damian.

"Oh, dear, you can call me Molly. Fred, George go and remove the gnomes from garden now!" ordered Molly.

Damian's vacation at the Weasleys was going smoothly. He spent most of his days either playing Quidditch or de-gnoming the garden with Ron and his siblings. Damian really liked Mr Weasley. He wasn't anything like his own father or Uncle Lucius. Mr Weasley was friendly and jolly. Also, he was fond of Muggles, unlike his father who hated them.

Dobby and Molly constantly fought over who was going to cook.

It was the last day of holidays and Damian was in Diagon Alley with the Weasleys. He was hoping to see his father. He looked at his list of equipment; he didn't understand why they had so many of Gilderoy Lockhart's book in their Defence Against the Dark Arts course. According to his father, Gilderoy Lockhart was, "an utter git, who does not know anything."

However, Damian was more concerned about the Weasley family's financial condition. Though him and his father were no purebloods, his father had his life savings, which was enough for them.

* * *

 

Damian and the Weasleys were heading towards another shop when they heard someone call out.

"Damian, Ron over here!" They looked up to see Hermione waving at them, while her parents were looking here and there nervously. The Weasleys greeted them. Arthur was talking to the Grangers excitedly while Molly was listening whatever her husband was telling the poor Muggles.

Ron, Hermione and Damian were taking when someone drawled, "Well, well, well. Look what we have here... a traitor with a bunch of losers."

Damian looked up sharply and met Draco's cold, hardened eyes. Draco's father was with him, who fixed Damian with a glare.

"I never expected this from you. I thought you were better than this. Severus is being much too lenient I see," said Lucius coldly.

Just then, Arthur spoke. "Hey kids, let's go to…. Oh, Hello Lucius," greeted Arthur coldly, suddenly losing all traces of his good mood.

" _Arthur_. Being over friendly with Muggles, I see. So, how are things in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Department? I heard you're doing over time these days. What else could I expect from someone who is such a disgrace to wizards?" drawled Lucius

"Well, I have a completely different view on what is called a disgrace, Malfoy," hissed Arthur. Both men were about to explode in a shouting match, but Molly caught her husband's arm.

"Don't be a fool, Arthur. Children are present here, don't make a scene," hissed Molly, dragging Arthur away.

During the entire ordeal, Hermione's parents looked terrified

* * *

 

It was the first day of Hogwarts. Damian, Hermione and Ron were heading towards the Great Hall.

"Last year was quite boring. Nothing happened besides Gryffindor winning the Quidditch cup and Quirrell died," said Ron. Hermione hit him on head. "What?" shouted Ron.

"You should be more sympathetic towards people, Ronald," Hermione scolded. Ron just ignored her.

One week after school started, Damian found out how much of an 'utter git' their new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor was. Unlike Quirrell, who was a total scaredy cat, Lockhart was a self centred, vain twat with blonde hair and blue eyes, who always spoke about how great he was. Damian didn't like attending his classes.

The Gryffindor Quidditch team was heading for the Quidditch grounds. When they reached it, they found that the Slytherin team was already present there. Marcus Flint was smirking at Oliver.

"What the hell, Flint; we booked this ground for Quidditch practice," said Oliver.

"Well, Wood, we have a permission letter from Professor Snape. We booked this ground to train our new Seeker," drawled Marcus. Oliver snatched the slip from Flint's fingers and read.

"He's telling the truth guys," said Oliver, disappointed.

"Professor Snape always favours Slytherins. Why can't Professor Mcgonagall do the same for us?" whined the twins.

"Because she's Mcgonagall," grumbled Ron, who was also present with Hermione.

"So, where's this new Seeker of yours, Flint?" asked Oliver. Right on cue, Draco entered clad in Slytherin Quidditch uniform. He was holding his broomstick which was identical to the others' in his team.

"Is—is that the Nimbus 2001? The fastest broom?" asked George.

"Indeed, it is. Draco's father brought all of us new brooms," said Flint.

"Well, at least in Gryffindor, people don't buy positions with their money," said Hermione.

Draco turned sharply to her. "And who asked for your opinion, you filthy Mudblood," sneered Draco. Hermione's face fell, while the Slytherins started to laugh. Then something happened that nobody expected.

Damian punched Draco right across the face.

Draco stumbled backwards regained his balance. He touched his bleeding nose and glared at Damian. "You ungrateful bastard. You hit me, me. Have you forgotten just how much my family has done for you? You don't deserve to be Professor Snape's son. You're a huge disappointment and burden on him. Father was right; you're indeed a slut's son—who never wanted you and left you outside Professor Snape's house," spat out a seething Draco.

Damian's face fell.

"Enough of your bullshit, Malfoy. Eat slugs!" shouted Ron pointing his wand at Draco. But Ron's spell backfired and he ended up cursing himself! Soon slugs were coming out of his mouth. The Slytherins started to laugh, but soon enough, both teams took their respective housemates to Madam Pomfrey.

* * *

 

That night Damian was standing outside his father's office. He was very nervous. He gently knocked on the door.

"Enter!" Severus barked. Damian nervously entered the office. He looked up to see his father's expression. He was beyond furious. Before he could say anything, his father shouted,

"Who do you think you are? Just because you won a Quidditch match last year and became a star Seeker overnight, doesn't mean you can run around punching people. Is this what Minerva teaches her precious Gryffindors? I thought you were better than this. Would you care to tell me why you punched Draco?" But Damian kept quiet, which only angered Severus more.

"I'm asking something, boy; why?" demanded Severus.

"Because he called Hermione a Mudblood," said Damian. That single word brought back Severus's worst memories. It was as if somebody had poured cold water over him. He blankly looked at his son, who took his gaze the wrong way.

"I know. I'm a disappointment to know. I know how ashamed are you of me. I know you hate me because I didn't get sorted into Slytherin and because I'm not perfect like your beloved godson. I'm a disgrace and a burden. You don't want me, just like my mother never wanted me and left me on your doorstep." Damian's voice became strangled as he spoke the last line and to Severus's horror, he started to cry.

Severus' cold expression fell; a lump was forming in his throat. Quickly, he locked the door with a Locking Charm and kneeled before Damian.

"Please look up," said Severus hoarsely. When Damian didn't look up, he gently took his son's chin between his fingers and made him look up. His heart broke to see Damian's tear-filled eyes. "Damian Severus Snape. You are neither a disappointment nor disgrace or any of that. You're better than all of those pure-blood children. And listen to me, your mother loved you and always wanted you. She was even willing to give up her life for you. So, please son, don't you ever doubt your mother's love. You said you aren't perfect; no-one is perfect, son. Not even me. I have made mistakes too. When you're a bit older, we're going to have to talk about certain things," said Severus.

"Father?"

"Yes, Damian?"

"Can I sleep in your chambers tonight?" asked Damian hesitantly. Severus just nodded. That night, before going to bed, Severus gave a photo to Damian.

"You said you wanted to have your mother's picture. Here it is," said Severus. Damian took the picture happily and looked at it. But soon the colour drained from his face. His mother was woman from the mirror.

Damian was heading towards the library with his mother's picture in his hand. Suddenly he bumped into someone. He looked up to see that it was Hagrid.

"Uh, sorry, Mr Hagrid," Damian apologised. Hagrid only chuckled and ruffled his hair. He looked down and picked up the piece of paper that Damian dropped.

"Damian you dropped something" said Hagrid looking at the piece of paper, the photo, in shock.

Damian turned around and saw Hagrid's shocked expression.

"W—where did you find this picture?" asked Hagrid. Damian just shrugged his shoulders.

"Do you know who she is?" asked Damian.

Hagrid just sighed. "Lily Potter. Ah, such a great witch she was. I knew her since she was a little first year student. I don't know why Merlin does this to good people. On the night of Halloween, Lily along with her husband James and son Harry, was killed by You-Know-Who. Such a tragedy. Harry was only one year old. You know, if he was alive, he would be around the same age as you"

Damian was shocked to hear, what Hagrid said. His mother had a husband and son too…. He was sure now, that his father was hiding something

 


	5. Chapter 5

 

It was the start of third year. Most of the students were happy. Damian wasn't.

After finding out that his mother had another family, he was both confused and angry. Perhaps Draco was right? Maybe he was actually a bastard. He had tried to ask his father more about his mother but to no avail.

"So Ron, how was Egypt?" Hermione's voice brought Damian out of his thoughts. He turned to Ron to hear his story.

"It was alright—kind of boring if you ask me. All we saw is tombs, tombs and some more tombs and sand. Dad was really happy," grumbled Ron.

Damian chuckled. When the Weasley family won 700 Galleons in lottery, they had decided to visit Bill in Egypt, (which was waste of money according to Damian's father).

Everyone headed towards the Great Hall. After the sorting, Dumbledore came forward and began his speech:

"Good evening students. Welcome to another wonderful year at Hogwarts. There are some announcements to make. First, Mr Percy Weasley and Miss Penelope Clearwater are the new Head Boy and Head Girl. Secondly, due to certain circumstances, students are not allowed to leave Hogwarts except for Hogsmeade weekends, which will be supervised by Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape…"

"What circumstances is he talking about?" asked Damian.

Hermione looked at him disapprovingly. "Don't you ever read the Daily Prophet? Mass murderer Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban yesterday. He got life imprisonment for killing thirteen Muggles and betrayed the Potter family to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. The Ministry thought it would be good to send Dementors after Black but the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Madame Amelia Bones, said it would be dangerous for both Muggles and wizards," said Hermione.

"Where did you hear all that?" asked Ron, open mouthed.

"Prophet," was Hermione's simple reply.

"And last, but certainly not least, since Professor Lockhart resigned from his post—"

Before Dumbledore could finish his sentence, students began to chat loudly.

"SILENCE!" shouted Dumbledore. Immediately, whole hall quitened. "Ahem, where was I? Since Lockhart left his post, we now have a new professor. Please welcome your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Remus Lupin!"

Upon hearing the name, Severus dropped his fork. He got up abruptly and looked past Albus.

Then he saw him, that monster. Wearing ragged clothes, smiling at Dumbledore as if everything was normal.

* * *

 

Remus was in his classroom waiting for his students.

At first, he hadn't been sure about returning to Hogwarts but Albus had convinced him.

Just then, the door of the class opened and the students came in. Once everyone was seated, Remus stepped forward and began to speak:

"Hello students. I'm Remus Lupin, your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Since it's our first class, why don't we introduce ourselves?" suggested Remus.

Students started to whisper. Unfortunately, because of his condition, Remus was able to hear everything.

"Look at him; he looks ill. He's so pale and his hairs are greying!"

"Do you think he's going to die like Quirrell?"

"Oh no, the Defense Against the Dark Arts post is cursed."

"He looks kind of funny..."

"Ron!"

Remus cleared his throat loudly. "Okay, if no one is interested in interacting, I think we should start the lesson. Please open—"

"NO PROFESSOR!" the whole class shouted, and started to introduce themselves.

After the class was over, Damian and his friends headed towards the grounds.

"I really liked Professor Lupin. He's nice," said Damian.

"I think he's suffering from some illness. He looks quite old for his age," said Hermione.

"Who cares? At least this new professor isn't a git like Lockhart," said Ron.

Severus was heading to his potions lab. When he rounded the corner of one corridor, he was horrified to see his son talking to Lupin. Damian said something to which Lupin responded with a smile. Severus' blood boiled. He marched towards them in anger and grabbed a fistful of Damian's robes.

Startled, Damian turned around.

"What are you doing here?" hissed Severus. "In place of attending your classes, you're here wasting your professor's time," said Severus through gritted teeth.

"I wasn't wasting time, Professor Snape. I had a free period so I was talking to Professor Lupin," said Damian, but Severus only got more agitated.

"If you have free time, go somewhere else!" shouted Severus. Damian spared his father one more glance and left, almost running in his haste to get away from his anger.

Severus fixed Lupin with a hard glare and spoke coldly:

"Listen, and listen carefully. Stay away from my son, monster. Even your shadow shouldn't fall on him. If I ever see you near my son, I swear, Lupin, I'll kill you."

Despite Severus' threat, Remus smiled. It was a cold and challenging smile. "I have every right to interact with my students, Severus. And why are you so worried? Is it a father's general concern? Or is it because you're hiding something?"

"What are you talking about"? Severus asked, coldly.

"You know exactly what. And if my suspicions turn out to be true, no one, and I mean no one, is going to save you from my wrath, Severus Snape," growled Remus and left an angry and horrified Severus, alone.

* * *

 

It was a Hogsmeade weekend and everyone was enjoying their trip. Especially the third year students—it was their first year attending, after all.

"One day we're going to open a joke shop bigger than Zonko's," proclaimed the twins.

"In your dreams," muttered Ron.

"Oh, come on, little brother, you should be on our side," whined the twins.

"Do you know how much it'll cost to open a shop? And not to mention you'll need to buy products for your shop and other things," said Hermione.

Damian, Ron and Hermione were heading for another shop. Just then, Damian saw something. Near the bushes, there was a black dog.

It looked ill.

Damian carefully approached the dog. "Hey buddy, we're not going to hurt you," Damian told it, gently.

"Come back mate. It might have flees," said Ron.

Damian ignored him and moved closer to the dog. When he reached near it, Damian gently patted its head, making it whine and sniff him. Then, it sniffed him again, and again, and again, all the while, it was whining and nuzzling him. Damian patted the dog fondly.

"Damian you know very well that we can't take him with us. It's against the school rules. We can't keep a dog as a pet," stated Hermione, somehow knowing what he had been thinking.

"Oh look at him, Hermione; he's so cute. He can live with Hagrid. Hagrid loves animals," said Damian.

With the help of Fred and George, Damian snuck the dog into Hogwarts in shrunken form. He managed to speak to Hagrid, who agreed to keep the dog.

"So guys, what should we name him?" asked Damian, looking at his four-legged friend.

"Snuffles," suggested Ron.

"Seriously, Ronald, does he look like a 'Snuffles' to you? Let me think... he kind of reminds me of those legendary black dogs—Padfoot!" exclaimed Hermione.

Immediately, the dogs ears perked up, alert. It was as if he was shocked.

"So, Padfoot it is. Hey, buddy do you like your new name?" asked Damien. Padfoot just barked.

That night, while Fang was sleeping soundly, Padfoot got up and made his way towards Forbidden Forest, where he changed back to his original form. He knew very well that the whole Wizarding world wanted to catch him—dead or alive. For his own safety, he, Sirius Black, should stay as dog.

* * *

 

Remus was having tea with Professor Flitwick, who was really happy to see his old student.

"Can I ask you something, Professor Flitwick?" asked Remus.

Flitwick only chuckled. "I'm no longer your professor, Remus. You can call me Filius," said the part-elf professor.

"Alright, Filius. Could you tell me about glamour charms?" asked Remus.

Flitwick frowned, looking slightly confused, but nevertheless, he started to speak. "As you know, unlike Polyjuice potion, which changes a person's appearance and voice. Glamour charms change only your physical appearance. They don't change your voice or physical traits, like how you walk etc. But, like Polyjuice potion, you have to apply it frequently," explained Flitwick.

"Can a person cast glamour charm on another person?" asked Remus.

"Yes, but you don't have to use your wand. A powerful wizard can cast it wandlessly and wordlessly," said Flitwick.

Remus nodded his understanding and said goodbye to Flitwick.

Snape is going to pay, was the only thought in Remus' mind.

One day, after Quidditch practice, Damian decided to visit Padfoot. He was busy playing with him when his father appeared.

"Damian, what are you doing with that dog? Come here," said Severus.

Padfoot started to growl at him; Damian was shocked at his behaviour. He had never been anything but friendly before.

"Hey buddy, what's wrong? It's just my father," Damian tried to assure Padfoot, but the dog had other plans. He charged forward to attack Severus, but Hagrid intervened.

"Now, now Padfoot. Why are you angry with Professor Snape? He's not taking Damian away," assured Hagrid.

"What did you call him?" asked Severus.

"Padfoot. Miss Granger gave him that name." said Hagrid

"It feels like I've heard that name before," stated Severus, leaving with Damian. All the while Padfoot never stopped barking at him.

Some days later, Fred and George showed Ron and Damian a piece of paper.

"What is it, this time?" demanded Ron.

"Wait and watch little brother," said the twins. "We solemnly swear, we're up for no good," chanted the twins.

Immediately, the blank page filled with many pictures and the page turned into some kind of map. On the top of the map was written: Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs welcome you to the Marauders Map.

"What is this?" asked Damian.

"It's the Marauder's map. It was made by the legendary pranksters of Hogwarts, known as: The Marauders. This map will help you locate anyone, anyone, in this school—even Dumbledore.

When your work is done, all you need to say is mischief managed," explained the twins.

Damian and Ron were dumbfounded.

One night, Damian was just looking at the map when he was shocked to see another person on Ron's bed on the parchment. He looked up, but found only Scabbers. But when he looked on the map, it indicated that there was a human with Ron. Damian had a horrible realisation: Scabbers wasn't a real rat.

The next day, Damian set a trap. He brought Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, into the dorm he shared with Ron. Hermione had told him that Crookshanks was very smart.

Scabbers was on the bed. Crookshanks strolled towards the rat, whose squeaks made it obvious he was terrified. Then Crookshanks smelled him and turned away as if he was a piece of grass.

Just then, Ron came and shouted: "Stay away from my Scabbers you filthy beast!"

Damian slapped his forehead. Ron had ruined his perfect plan.

* * *

 

On the night before the full moon, Damian and Ron were heading to the Library after dinner.

Just then, a fifth year student approached them. "Excuse me, Professor Hagrid called you to his hut," said the boy.

Damian and Ron nodded.

Later, they were on their way to Hagrid's hut, joined by Hermione.

"What do you think Hagrid wants?" asked Ron.

"Maybe something happened to Padfoot?" guessed Damian.

"I don't know why you're so attached to that dog, mate; he isn't that special" said Ron.

Hermione glared at him. When they reached Hagrid's hut, they saw Hagrid was trying to calm a restless Padfoot. Damian ran straight to him.

"Hey boy, what's the matter?" asked Damian, petting the dog who whined and nuzzled into him.

All of a sudden, Padfoot got up and ran away. Hagrid looked worried.

"Don't worry, Hagrid. We'll bring him back" assured Damian running after Padfoot. Hermione and Ron followed him.

Ron, Hermione and Damian were running after Padfoot who was now nearing the village of Hogsmeade.

"Where the hell this bloody dog is taking us?" huffed Ron. He was tired of running.

"Maybe he's trying to show us something," said Damian. They saw Padfoot running towards an old, rusty house, which looked quite scary.

"Guys, I think we should turn back," said Ron.

"Why, what happened?" asked Damian.

"That's the Shrieking Shack—the most haunted house in Britain," said Hermione.

Damian ignored her and kept following Padfoot, who had disappeared.

All of a sudden, Padfoot reappears and caught Ron by his pant leg, dragging him towards the house.

"Guys, help me!" cried Ron.

Damian and Hermione broke into a sprint and entered the house. After climbing a set of stairs, they reached a large room, where they found Ron sitting by a wall looking terrified. They rushed to him.

"Ron! Ron, what happened? Where's Padfoot?" asked Damian.

Ron was shaking badly. "Padfoot, he—he isn't a dog. He's an animagus," said Ron looking behind, not at, Damian. Hermione and Damian looked in the same direction, where they saw a man with long hair; his clothes were tattered. Damian recognised him immediately.

"SIRIUS BLACK!" shouted Hermione and Damian in unison. Damian pointed his wand at the man—trying to act brave.

"You bastard, you used us—used me. You used your animagus form to trick us. We took you in, gave you food, shelter and you're going to pay us by killing us," spat Damian. He was hurt by this betrayal.

"I could never kill you—any of you."

Damian frowned, not understanding what Black was saying.

"I used my dog form to stay close to you. You don't know how long I've waited to see you. I thought I lost you," said Sirius. His voice was thick with emotion.

"Stop lying you traitor," shouted Damian.

Just then, the door opened and Professor Lupin entered. Damian stepped aside, thinking their professor was going to help them. Instead, Professor Lupin hugged Black. Damian was beyond shocked.

"You're with him? We trusted you! Damian, Ron, he's a werewolf! That's why he's absent from classes every month," spat Hermione.

Remus looked at Hermione "You are really the smartest witch in Hogwarts. When did you find out?" asked Remus.

Hermione glowered. "Since Professor Snape gave us the essay on werewolves," she said.

"Both of you, stop talking to them. They're going to kill us!" exclaimed Ron.

"I'm not going to kill anybody—apart from one person," said Sirius, looking in Ron's direction.

"Me?" asked Ron.

"No, you idiot. Your rat." Sirius scolded

"But Scabbers is my pet; he's been in my family fo—"

"Twelve years. Don't you think that's an unusually long time for a rat to live? Have you noticed his missing toe?"

"That proves nothing," whined Ron.

Remus snatched Scabbers from Ron and pointed his wand at him. Then, he muttered a spell.

Scabbers levitated in the air and turned into a short man with grubby skin, small eyes and a pointed nose. He looked like a human mouse.

"Peter Pettigrew!" exclaimed Hermione.

"S—Sirius, Remus it's good to see you," said Pettigrew, weakly.

"The feeling isn't mutual, you traitor," said Sirius, holding Pettigrew's neck while Remus pointed his wand at him.

"Ron, help me!" shouted Pettigrew. Ron hid behind Hermione.

"You bastard. Because of you, I spent twelve years in Azkaban! Because of you, James and Lily are dead. Because you sold yourself to him," hissed Sirius.

"He would have killed me!" pleaded Peter.

"You could have killed yourself. I would have killed myself rather than betraying James and Lily," spat Remus. The wolf was beginning to surface.

Something snapped in Damian. This man was responsible for his mother's death.

"Kill him!" shouted Damian. Remus and Sirius nodded. They were about to do raise their wands when Hermione stopped them.

"Wait, don't kill him! You can hand him to the Aurors. It will prove your innocence," Hermione told Sirius.

Pettigrew took the opportunity, and while they were talking, he turned into his animagus form and started to run.

"Oh not so fast! Accio mouse cage!" said Hermione, summoning a cage which fell directly on Pettigrew—trapping him. Remus locked the cage with a locking charm. Everyone released a sigh of relief.

Just then, the door opened again and a very worried looking Severus entered.

"What in the name of Merlin—BLACK!"

"Snivelles"

 


	6. Chapter 6

 

Severus couldn't believe his luck.

One minute he was worrying about his son, and the next, he was before his worst enemies.

He was horrified to see Lupin and Black so close to his son. He advanced toward Black, pointing his wand at him. "The three of you, go back to the castle. I'll deal with these two," Severus ordered, looking angrily at Black.

He marched towards Sirius and pointed his wand under his chin. Then he turned to Lupin and sneered at him. "As I suspected, helping an old friend, Lupin. Let's see what Dumbledore has to say about your treachery," he said, and turning to Sirius he continued, "and you Black, I can't wait for the Aurors to get their hands on you. It'll be pleasant to see you face the Dementor's kiss. Imagine it, Black — a huge group of Dementors devouring every bit of your soul," said Severus sadistically.

Before he could do anything, he heard a shout. "Father no, he's innocent! It's all that rat's fault!" shouted Damian, pointing at a small cage imprisoning a rat.

Severus was shocked; it was unbelievable to see his son defending his worst enemy.

Sirius, upon seeing Snape's distraction, lunged forward, knocking Snape down on to the floor. Immediately, he sat on Snape's chest and wrapped his hands around his throat.

"Mate, what the hell is he doing? Professor Lupin do something!" shouted Ron, frantically, but Remus ignored him.

Damian advanced towards Sirius and his father, but before he could reach them, Remus conjured a magical barrier between them. Damian beat his fists against the invisible wall, trying to break through it, but no avail.

Severus was struggling badly against Black's hold, and Damian was shouting at both men to let go of his father.

"Padfoot that's enough. You're going to kill him," scolded Remus. Sirius looked at his friend as if he'd said something incredibly stupid.

"Are you fucking insane Moony? After what he did — all those years I spent in Azkaban thinking I'd lost my only hope for living. No, Moony, no," said Sirius his voice thick with emotion.

Reluctantly, he let go of Snape, who was breathing heavily. Remus dropped his barrier. Both Damian and Hermione came running to Severus. Damian held his father tightly while Hermione pointed her wand at the two older men. Ron was still on the floor.

"I don't fucking care if you're innocent or not. After what you've done to my father, I'm not going to spare either of you," threatened Damian.

At his words, Sirius laughed. It sounded cold and sarcastic.

"This man," said Sirius, pointing an accusatory finger at Severus, "is not your father. This bastard is a slimy Slytherin who stole you from us, made us believe that you died, and hid you from the world. What did you think Snivellus? Did you think that by changing his name and using a shitty charm on him, you'd hide him from us — from me?You forgot one huge thing Snape: dogs never forget smell," Sirius spat.

"What — what are you talking about? You're lying; you're definitely lying. Father, they're lying, aren't they?" asked Damian.

Severus was beyond shocked; he was unable to speak. The day he had been dreading for forever had arrived.

"We're not lying, and this man you're calling your father is a cheat. You're not Damian Snape; you're Harry Potter. James and Lily's son, my godson," said Sirius.

Damian looked confused and horrified. "B — but I — he, I," stuttered Damian.

Ron was dumbfounded, he attempted to get up but fell with a loud thud.

"What are you talking about? Everyone knows that Harry Potter is dead. The whole Potter family was killed by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named," said Hermione.

Remus shook his head. He pulled something out of his pocket; it was a small phial containing a liquid. Severus' eyes went huge when he saw it.

"Remember this Snape, Veritaserum made by Professor Slughorn — especially for you," said Remus darkly.

Sirius held Snape tightly. The children were too shocked to say or do anything. Remus forced the liquid to Severus' mouth. He attempted to spit out the potion but Sirius tightened his grip on him and he was forced to swallow.

When Sirius was sure that Severus had drunk the potion, he loosened his grip on him.

"What is your name?" demanded Remus.

Sirius groaned. "Seriously, Moony, you're wasting time asking that?"

"Severus Tobias Snape," reluctantly replied Severus.

"Who is this boy? Is he your son?" asked Sirius.

Severus couldn't believe his ears. This could not happening to him; he was a Potions master for Merlin's sake! He had to fight the potion.

"Ye — no he isn't my son. He's Harry Potter," said Severus aghast.

Damian looked his father with horror-filled eyes.

Then it hit him hard, like a weight slamming into his stomach, and suddenly everything was clear.

The reason his father had never wanted him to attend Hogwarts, why his father wanted him to be in Slytherin, why he spent half of his childhood with Purebloods — because his father wanted to make him something he wasn't.

"B — but he looks like Professor Snape. Not entirely, but still," said Ron.

Remus faced Damian and pointed his wand at him "Ostendo tu ipse," hemuttered.

Suddenly, a white light shone before Damian. Ron and Hermione gasped while Sirius' eyes were filled with tears. Remus looked at him, emotion clearly written on his face.

"Woah, mate, your face!" exclaimed Ron.

Upon her friend's confused reaction, Hermione gently turned him towards a broken window in the shack. When he saw his reflection, Damian sucked in a breath.

His appearance had changed completely.

His hair was messy, his eyes had turned green, and there was a scar on his forehead. He couldn't believe his eyes; this was the same image he had seen during his first year!

He had completely misunderstood what the mirror had shown him. He spun away from his reflection and began to sob, sounding choked as he tried desperately to hold his tears back.

The Shrieking Shack was filled with the sound of loud heartbreaking sobs.

Severus knelt before his son and gently placed his hand on the boy's face. "Damian," Severus spoke softly.

Upon hearing that name, Damian — Harry, angrily removed Severus's hand from his face. "Don't touch me, and don't call me that. I'm not Damian; I'm Harry. For my entire life I've longed for my mother, but now, I realise that I've to long for a father as well. Throughout my life, everyone told me that I don't deserve to be your son, but now, I realise that you're the one who don't deserve to be my father," shouted Harry.

Severus's blood boiled; he was hurt, too, but to mask his hurt, he used his anger. "You ungrateful brat. It's because of me that you're still alive! If I hadn't taken you in, Albus would've sent you to those good for nothing, awful, filthy Muggles. I loved you like my own; I did my best to give you a better life, and this is how you repay me? You're indeed Potter's so; you're just like your dearest father," hissed Severus. He got up and Disapparated, leaving a crying Harry on the floor.

* * *

 

It was past midnight when Albus heard knocking on the door to his chambers. He rubbed his eyes groggily, and glancing out of his window to see the crescent moon in the sky, he opened his door.

Outside his door stood Remus, holding a small cage containing a rat. He was accompanied by a black dog and a somber looking boy who looked awfully like —

"Come in," said Dumbledore, urgently. They entered the room while Albus sealed it with a locking charm.

"What do you know mean, you knew everything from the start?" shouted Sirius.

Dumbledore cast a disapproving glance at him and turned his gaze to the boy who was on the verge of falling sleeping in one of Dumbledore's chairs.

Seeing the child's distress, Albus gave him some Calming Draught then a small amount of Sleeping Draught.

"Dipsy, Tinkle," Dumbledore called softly, and with a loud pop, two house-elves appeared.

"Headmaster Dumbly called," they said in unison.

Dumbledore nodded. "Please take Mr Potter to Professor Lupin's chambers."

Both elves lifted Harry and popped away.

Once the elves were gone, Albus faced both men.

"If you knew everything, why didn't you do anything? Why did you let Snape take… Harry?" demanded Sirius.

"I did it for Harry's safety, my boy. You can't ignore that despite everything, Severus gave Harry a good upbringing. He fulfilled all his responsibilities as a father."

"That man stole Harry away, made us believe he died, and you're taking his side?" asked Remus.

"I want to see that man behind the bars of Azkaban; I've proof of my innocence now. I'll adopt Harry; I'll take responsibility for him," said Sirius.

Albus shook his head. "I'm sorry Sirius; we can't let Harry's secret out. It'll be dangerous for him."

"D — do you think Voldemort will return?" asked Remus, hesitantly.

"I'm not going to lie to you my boy," was Dumbledore's only reply.

"No matter what you say, I'm not going back to Azkaban," said Sirius.

"Oh no my boy, you're not going back to Azkaban. I've a plan but you've to trust me," said Albus.

After talking to Dumbledore, the two of them joined Harry in Remus's room.

On the same night, Albus called Severus into his chambers. When Severus entered, he looked tired, worried, and sad.

"Don't worry, Severus. Mr Potter is safe; he's in Remus's room."

Severus eyes widened at Albus' words. "You knew." It wasn't a question.

Albus gave Severus a sad smile. "Yes, Severus, since the day you brought him into my office all those years ago. I'm not a fool, Severus. I saw the world. You did a great job; you brought him up well."

Severus just scoffed. "Are you going to send him to Lily's sister?"

"No."

"If you knew everything then why didn't you do anything?" asked Severus.

Albus chuckled at the question. Sirius had asked him the same.

"Because you deserved happiness, my boy."

 


	7. Chapter 7

 

Harry woke up with a start. Looking around at his surroundings, he realised that he wasn't in the Gryffindor dorms. He looked to his side and found Sirius looking at him.

Suddenly, memories of the previous night crashed over him like a tidal wave. What had happened last night hadn't been a dream; it was real.

Everything was real. Padfoot's truth, his truth, his father's betrayal. Everything was true.

"Hey pup, sleep well?" asked Sirius.

"Pup?" questioned Harry.

"Yeah, when you were little, I used to call you my pup. You know what your first word was? Padfoot! Oh Merlin, James was so jealous. You should've seen his face, he—" Sirius stopped abruptly upon seeing Harry's pained expression. "Hey, I—I didn't want to upset you... I think we should call an elf for food or something." And with that, Sirius started to get up.

"Wait, p—please tell me more about me more about my father—uh I mean, parents. What were they like?" asked Harry, his voice thick with emotions. Sirius studied the boy for a moment before nodding and starting to tell Harry everything.

Severus was in his Potions class with hid third year students; his eyes were searching for a certain someone in the crowd of children. After the register, he looked at two Gryffindors and barked:  
"Mr Weasley, Miss Granger, care to tell me where Harr—your friend is and why he isn't attending the class?"

"He wasn't feeling well, Professor. He had an appointment with Madam Pomfrey. She told him to rest," lied Hermione

"Ten points from Gryffindor for lying to your Professor," said Severus, glaring at the bushy-haired witch.

"She's not lying, Sir, and if Damien doesn't want to attend this class then that's his choice and if he doesn't want to see you, I can't blame him," said Ron through gritted teeth.

"Forty points from Gryffindor and detention with Filch for a month!" shouted Severus. The Slytherins looked smug while the Gryffindors flinched.

Later, Ron and Hermione were in the corridors. Hermione glared at Ron. "Are you insane, Ronald? He's a professor, for Merlin's sake," scolded Hermione.

Ron groaned. "I don't care if he's a fucking professor or not. After what that bastard did, he deserved it. He stole Damie—Harry from his home, lied to him his whole life, and kept him away from truth: that he's Harry Potter. I don't mind losing fifty points—or having detention with Filch. I gave that bastard what he deserved," said Ron.

"What? Damien is Harry Potter?" someone exclaimed from behind them. Ron and Hermione spun around to see Fred and George there, their eyes were huge with shock. Ron was opening and closing his mouth like a fish.

Great, just great. Now my idiot brothers know the truth, thought Ron.

"Look guys, what you heard is the truth, but you can't tell anyone. Apart from us, only Dumbledore, Professor Lupin, and Sirius know the truth," said Hermione.

"Wait, Sirius as in Sirius Black?" exclaimed the twin.

"Keep your damn voice low; do you want the whole castle to know? It's a long story. Let's take this somewhere more private," said Ron.

* * *

 

Sirius and Harry were still in Remus' room. Sirius convinced Harry to wear his glamour; Harry reluctantly agreed.

Just then, the door of Remus' room swung open and in entered four people. The first man was gruff looking, his face was covered with scars and a chunk of his nose was missing. He also had a wooden leg, but the scariest thing about him was his left eye. It was bigger than the right one, and both eyes had different colours.

One was black and the other was blue. He was accompanied by a dark-skinned man and another man, and then a girl with shoulder-length pink hair. They were pointing their wands at Sirius. The scary looking man muttered something and all of a sudden, Sirius was bound.

Sirius was struggling badly against the invisible hold. The other two Aurors came forward and restrained Sirius.

"Let him go! He didn't do anything. It's that rat's fault. It's all that bloody rat's fault!" shouted Harry.

"Stay back, kid. This is an official thing. Moody, what do you think he did to the boy? Used the Imperious Curse on him?" asked the dark-skinned man.

"We don't have time for this Shacklebolt. We've got to take him to Madame Bones. Everything should go as it was planned," said Moody. He looked at the girl who immediately took Pettigrew's cage. In blink of an eye, they Disapparated with Sirius—leaving Harry alone. Harry ran towards the Gryffindor dorms knowing very well that all of his classmates would be in their classes. On his way, he bumped into someone.

"Are you blind? Where do you think you're—" Severus stopped when he saw who it was. Harry was before him, looking worried and scared. "Dami—Harry, what happened? What's wrong, son?" asked Severus concerned.

"They took him. The Aurors took him. You must be really proud of yourself," said Harry bitterly.

"Aurors took whom?" asked Severus.

"Don't pretend. You know who I'm talking about. Sirius, they took Sirius. You—you called the Aurors, didn't you? You told them about his location. I—I hate you," shouted Harry, running away, leaving an aghast Severus alone.

Remus was in the Shrieking Shack. Today was the full moon and he was feeling weak. How could he be this careless? Just then Harry came running in.

"Professor Lupin, Professor Lupin, they took him. They took Sirius," said Harry, out of breath. He looked at Remus and asked: "What happened?"

"Full moon," Remus grunted. He attempted to get up, but fell.

* * *

 

Three days later, Harry joined Dumbledore and Remus in the Ministry of Magic for Sirius' trial. The court was full of people, including high-ranking Ministry officials, Aurors and a panel of seven judges including Fudge himself. Just then, the doors of the court opened and a group of Aurors entered with Sirius in chains. He was still struggling badly. Harry was horrified to see Sirius' condition. Then, the scary Alastor Moody or Mad-Eye as everyone called him came forward and looked at the panel of judges

"On the orders of Madam Amelia Bones, I am conducting Black's trial," said Moody, looking at a red-haired woman. Then, he opened a small phial and forced Sirius to drink it.

"What is your name?" asked Moody.

"Sirius Orion Black."

"With whom does your allegiance lie?" asked Moody.

"Dumbledore and Order of the Phoenix," replied Sirius.

"Did you murder those thirteen Muggles on the night of Halloween 1981?"

"No!"

"Have you killed anyone in your life?"

"No, but I have wanted to kill someone badly," confessed Sirius.

"Who and why?" asked Moody.

"Peter Pettigrew, because he betrayed the Potters and sold himself to Voldemort," said Sirius.

The whole court gasped when Sirius said Voldemort's name.

"To prove Black's innocence, I have further evidence," said Moody.

On cue, Kingsley and two other Aurors brought a man in. Upon seeing the man, the whole court broke into whispers.

Moody forced him to drink the same potion.

"What is your name?" asked Moody harshly.

"Peter Pettigrew," said the man.

"With whom does your allegiance lie?"

"The Dark Lord," said Peter—and again, everyone gasped.

"Did you murder those thirteen Muggles on the night of Halloween 1981?"

"Yes."

"Why?" shouted Moody.

"Being a Pureblood, I had to give the proof my loyalty to my master and do as he said," confessed Peter.

Moody looked at the man before him with disgust. "Did you betray the Potters to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?" he asked.

"Yes," said the mousy-looking man.

"After hearing both confessions, the court declares Sirius Black free and Peter Pettigrew will receive the Dementor's kiss," declared Madam Bones.

"Excuse me, Madame Bones, but because of the Ministry, I spent twelve years in Azkaban. Because of these people my life was—or is, ruined. As the sole heir to the Most Ancient and Noble House Of Black, I demand twelve-thousand Galleons as my compensation," said Sirius.

"This is insanity!" shouted a short woman, who was dressed entirely in pink. To Harry, she looked like a toad.

"Demand granted," declared Madam Bones, ignoring the toad woman.

After the trial, Sirius was hugged by Remus and Arthur. Moody, Dumbledore, and other Aurors shook his hand. Harry hugged him tightly, unaware of the fact that Lucius saw him. He was confused to see Severus' son attending Black's trial.

Sirius left the court with his head high while Aurors dragged a shouting Peter away.

"Dumbledore is a liar! Harry Potter is alive! Harry Potter is alive!"

But no one paid attention to him, or found his rant interesting

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter

 

After Sirius' trial everything changed. Harry started to spend more and more time with Sirius and avoided Snape as much as possible. Ron fully supported Harry's decision, but Hermione, being the smart one, told him that he shouldn't disrespect Professor Snape and that talking to him would be the best solution.

Obviously, Harry and Ron ignored her.

One day, Remus took Harry to an unknown room, which he had never seen before. The room wasn't that big. There, on a table, was small metallic bowl. Harry couldn't see anything special about it.

Remus produced a small vial from his robes, poured its contents into the bowl, and then smiled at Harry. "Come forward Harry and take a look," encouraged Remus.

Harry cautiously approached the table and looked at the metallic object in confusion.  
"What is it?" asked Harry.

It wasn't as if he didn't trust Professor Lup—Remus but he had taught since his childhood to be careful around cauldrons and magical objects.

"It's a Pensieve, just look inside," urged Remus. Harry looked inside the liquid filled bowl…

_Harry found himself in St Mungo's where a boy, who looked around twenty, stood nervously outside a ward. He looked familiar, it felt as if Harry had seen him before... then it clicked; it was Remus. He looked bit ill—probably due to the full moon._

_"Come in, Remus," Harry heard a woman's voice say._

_He looked inside and saw a woman with flaming red hair and green eyes smiling kindly at Remus. She looked exhausted, but happy; she was holding something in her arms. Harry recognised her immediately._

_It was his mother—and that bundle in her arms was a baby. Beside her stood young Sirius and another man who had messy black hair. A lump formed in Harry's throat upon seeing his real father._

_"Congratulations Lily, Prongs," said Remus, his eyes fixed on the baby._

_"You know Moony, Prongs fainted and the Mediwitch thought I was the father? She was like: 'Congratulations, Mr Potter, you have a healthy baby boy,'" explained Sirius, laughing._

_"Shut up, arsehole!" shouted James, feeling embarrassed._

_Lily glared daggers at him._

_"So, decided on a name yet?" asked Remus._

_"I think we should name him James Jr," suggested James._

_"Or Sirius Jr or even better, James Sirius Potter," suggested Sirius._

_Remus' eyes widened at that. "Oh, Merlin no, just no. This world isn't ready for a James Sirius yet," he said_.

_"Harold, after my dad—we can call him Harry," said Lily._

_James nodded in agreement and Lily handed baby Harry to Remus who held him carefully._

_Then he started to sniff the baby._

_"Don't get me wrong, mate, but what the hell are you doing?" asked Sirius._

_Remus flushed with embarrassment. "T—the wolf is making sure that this child is safe," mumbled Remus._

_Everyone started to laugh._

When Harry looked up from the Pensieve, his eyes were filled with tears. He was feeling happy and sad at the same time.

* * *

 

Severus entered Albus' office looking irritated, while the old wizard smiled at him patiently.

"Ah, Severus, please take a seat. Lemon drop?" asked Albus, offering the sweets to the other man.

Severus looked suspiciously at Albus. Something was wrong; Dumbledore was being too nice and that was never a good thing.

"What is it Albus?" asked Severus in an emotionless tone.

Dumbledore looked up and spoke seriously: "Sirius wants to blood-adopt Harry, my boy. He said if you don't agree on adoption he'll—" before Albus could complete his sentence, Severus cut him off.

"He'll what? Tell the truth to the Ministry and send me to Azkaban? I refuse to be scared of such empty threats, and I'll never, never give up on my son!" shouted Severus. His whole body was shaking with barely-veiled anger.

"Severus, you need to calm down, for Harry's sake. For his safety, it is better to let him live with you. With you, the Death Eaters will never find out his true identity, but with Sirius, it'll become too obvious. You should show your memories to Harry, Severus. Then he'll understand," said Dumbledore.

"I refuse to manipulate him with those horrible memories. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some potions to brew." And with that, Severus left the room, leaving a concerned-looking Albus alone.

* * *

 

Over the weekend, Harry spent his time with Sirius, who was telling Harry about his marauder adventures. Harry was listening carefully when a question popped into his head.

"Sirius can I ask you something?" asked Harry.

"Anything, pup."

"Do I have any living relatives?" asked Harry, looking at Sirius hopefully.

"You have an aunt, Lily's sister, but I don't know much about her. James met her once. He told me, she was a bitch—just like my mother was," said Sirius with a humourless laugh.

"Please, Sirius, c—could you take me to see my aunt?" pleaded Harry. He really wanted to see his aunt. Maybe she could tell him more about his mother.k

"I don't know, Harry. I'm not too sure about this and Dumbledore won't allow you to visit Muggle London," suggested Sirius.

Harry looked at him with puppy dog eyes.

"Fine!" groaned Sirius.

Number 4 Privet Drive, read Harry who was outside an average-sized home. It was the first time he had visited a Muggle area, and he was accompanied by Sirius.

Sirius rung the bell.

The door was opened by a thin woman with blonde hair and pale eyes, her neck was quite long. It reminded Harry of a crane. She looked at Sirius and Harry suspiciously.

"Good afternoon, Madam. I'm Arthur Weasley and this is my son Ron. We're here to discuss a matter regarding your late sister Lily Potter (nee Evans)," said Sirius in his best impression of a Ministry official.

Upon the mention of her sister, the woman's expression turned cold. "Listen, I'm not interested in anything related to my dead freak sister. I'm glad she, her freak husband, and brat died many years ago. I clearly told that old fool to leave me and my family alone and to let me live my perfectly normal life. Now, both of you get the hell off of my property," shouted Petunia and slammed the door on Harry and Sirius' faces.

Sirius turned to Harry and said, "Whoa Prongs was right; she's actually a bitch."

"Father was right. Muggles are bastards," said Harry angrily. How could that woman dare to say all of those things about his parents and other wizards? The Malfoys were right when they said Muggles were inferior.

* * *

 

Harry entered Dumbledore's office, feeling confused. He didn't know why the headmaster had called.

"Come, my boy; take a seat," instructed Dumbledore, and Harry did as he was told.

"Harry, I know these past months have been a bit difficult for you. I meant to ask you a personal question, my boy. Did Severus ever misbehave with you—like starved you or beat you?" asked Dumbledore, knowing very well what he was doing.

"Wha—no Merlin, no! Never, Headmaster where did you get that idea? Father—I mean Professor Snape was always bit strict, and he's a bit temperamental, introverted and barely shows affection, but he has never been abusive," said Harry defensively.

Albus was very pleased with Harry's reaction, but he kept his face neutral.

Harry looked at Dumbledore and started to speak again. "B—but he lied to me and called the Aurors after informing them about Sirius."

"Oh no, my boy. It wasn't Severus who called the Aurors; it was me. It was all a part of a plan that I had discussed with Sirius and Remus. I told Moody and Madam Bones everything. That's why Moody conducted Sirius' trial—because I told him to. Also, I told him to keep the interrogation brief so Sirius wouldn't give away any unnecessary information," explained Dumbledore.

Harry's face went pale as he remembered what had happened the day after Sirius' trial and what he had said to his father.

"Can you believe headmaster asked me that?" Harry asked Hermione who was listening carefully while Ron was in detention with Filch.

"I think you should talk to Professor Snape, Harry," suggested Hermione.

Harry shook his head stubbornly. "No. I don't want to say anything to him. He lied to me, kept secrets from me, and—" and before Harry could say any more, Hermione cut him off.

"You're the one who's lying to yourself Harry. If you don't care about Professor Snape then why did you defend him in front of Dumbledore? You care for him and still consider him your father. You can lie to us, but you can't fool yourself," scolded Hermione. When Harry said nothing, she spoke again.

"Talk to him Harry," Hermione urged.

Severus was correcting the fifth years' potion assignments in his office when he heard a knock.

"Enter," said Severus without looking up from the papers.

"F—father?"

Upon hearing that, Severus looked up sharply. He was shocked to see Harry there. Despite experiencing many emotions at the same time: happiness, shock, disbelief, he kept his face and voice blank.

"Mr Potter," acknowledged Severus. Harry flinched at the name—and the emotionless tone.

"Why are you here Mr Potter? Why aren't you with your beloved godfather—who is blood- adopting you? Don't worry soon you won't be related to a traitor," drawled Severus.

"Wha-what? Sirius never told me anything about adoption. I—I came here to talk to you. To ask, why you did what you did," said Harry. He was still shocked from the adoption news.

"Did what? Steal you?" Severus drawled again. Harry was fed up of his father's blasé behaviour.

"Will you please stop being so cold?" shouted Harry. The guilt he was feeling doubled. Severus got up and turned his back at Harry. Before Harry could think of leaving, he heard Severus speak.

"Unlike others, I didn't have a pleasant childhood. My father was a Muggle; he hated me and my mother. He used to torture us both. Your mother was my only friend. Apart from my mother, she was the only one who treated me well, but due to some circumstances me and your mother fell apart. She moved on in her life, married your father, and had you while I made terrible life choices," explained Severus. He turned around and looked Harry in the eyes.

"As for why I took you, your eyes reminded me of the woman I loved more than my life. If you got your answer, leave. I have some papers to correct," said Severus emotionlessly. Harry quietly took his leave.

* * *

 

Harry angrily entered Remus' rooms where he and Sirius were talking.

"Sirius, why didn't you tell me that you wanted to blood-adopt me?" asked Harry angrily. Remus was shocked to see Harry's reaction.

"It was a surprise, pup," said Sirius, which made Harry even angrier.

"Making life decisions for someone without the said person's consent isn't a surprise!" shouted Harry.

"Harry, you're not an adult yet. You need a Guardian," explained Remus in a calming tone.

"But I already have a guardian!"

"Who? That slimy bastard who stole you away and made us believe that you died?" spat Sirius.

"That slimy bastard raised me when you were in Azkaban. Without him I would have ended up with that awful Muggle woman who happens to be my aunt!" Harry shot back.

Sirius's eyes widened. The way Harry said Muggle reminded him of his family.

"I don't know what Snivellus did to you but you're talking like a Slytherin. This isn't the same boy I befriended as Padfoot. I'm not trying to control your life. I'm trying become closer to one person I consider my family. I wish we never met."

Immediately, Sirius closed his mouth realising what he had just said. Harry nodded curtly and left. Remus turned to Sirius with blazing eyes.

"What the hell, Padfoot? He's a child, for Merlin's sake, not a toy to fight over. Fix this shit before you lose him permanently." And with that, Remus left as well.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered Dumbledore's office. They were shocked to see Severus, Remus, Sirius, and two house-elves already there. Harry was shocked to see Dobby and Mipsy there.

"Gentlemen, children, and elves. I called you here to discuss a very important matter. Peter Pettigrew received the Dementor's kiss two days ago, and the only people who know Harry's truth are present here—" Before Albus could complete his speech, Ron interrupted him.

"Uh, Headmaster? My brothers know," said Ron meekly.

"Which one Mr Weasley?" asked Dumbledore, though he had already guessed.

"Twins," mumbled Ron.

Severus swore loudly and Albus shook his head at him disapprovingly.

Soon the twins joined the others. "We swear, Headmaster, we did nothing," said the twins. They stopped defending themselves when they saw the others.

"As I was saying, since Pettigrew is dead and no one knows Harry's truth apart from us, we should keep it a secret forever and never disclose it," suggested Albus.

"We swear on the Marauder's Map, we won't tell anyone," proclaimed the twins.

"Wait, you've got our map?" asked Sirius, but Remus elbowed him and told him to keep quiet. When everyone agreed on keeping the secret, Dumbledore spoke again.

"Now, the other important matter, with whom shall Harry live? None of us will put any pressure on you my boy. Take your time," informed Albus.

Before Harry could say anything, Dobby caught Harry's leg. "Don't leave, young Master Damien. Dobby and Mipsy can't live without young master." Dobby started to cry.

"Nice move, Snivellus. You brought your house elves for emotional blackmail," sneered Sirius.

"Dobby, leave Harry's leg or I'll free you," threatened Severus, then pointed his wand at Sirius who did the same. Before either wizard could cast a spell, Harry ran out of the office. Hermione followed suit.

Dumbledore looked at both men disapprovingly.

After sometime Harry and Hermione returned.

"Professor Dumbledore, we have a brilliant idea. Since Harry doesn't want to choose, why doesn't he live with both Professor Snape and Sirius?" suggested Hermione.

"Explain properly, Miss Granger," asked Dumbledore.

Hermione nodded and started to explain.  
"I'm suggesting that Professor Snape and Sirius will take turns. Harry will spend half of his breaks with Professor Snape and half with Sirius. That way, he'll be able to reconnect with Professor Snape and will get plenty of time to know Sirius better," explained Hermione.

Dumbledore nodded and looked at both men. "What you say, gentlemen?" asked Albus.

"Fine," they said in unison, agreeing reluctantly.

It was the last day of school and the start of the summer holidays. Everyone had aready packed their stuff and they were standing outside the school waiting for the Hogwarts Express.

Fred and George hugged Harry and said: "No matter what your name is, you'll always be our little brother." Harry just smiled.

"So, Harry you excited about going home?" asked Ron.

"I've never been more excited, mate," replied Harry.

Soon, Hagrid signalled for everyone to climb onto the train. The conductor blew the whistle and the train set off.

From a tower in Hogwarts, Severus watched the Hogwarts Express leave. Though he would never admit it in front of anyone, he was thankful to Merlin. He hadn't lost his son, he knew that Harry would join Black on Kings Cross, but he'd see Harry soon. James Potter would always be Harry's biological father, but he'd always remain Severus' son.

THE END

 


End file.
